ES2872924T3 - Weight optimization - Google Patents

Abstract

A lining element (2) for a wear-resistant transport truck body lining, said lining element (2) comprising a reinforcing plate (4) that is at least partially embedded in an elastic material (20), in wherein said reinforcing plate (4) comprises a plurality of mounting holes (6) that are arranged to mount the cladding element to the transport truck body (100) and that are not covered by the elastic material (20), and one or more weight-reducing cutouts (8) that are larger than the mounting holes (6) and that are covered by the elastic material (20), characterized in that said reinforcing plate (4) comprises one or more folded edges (12).

Description

DESCRIPTION

Weight optimization

Technical field

The present invention relates to a haulage truck body skin member, a transport truck body provided with a wear resistant coating, and a method of manufacturing a skin member.

Background of the technique

Haul Trucks are off-highway dump trucks designed for high-production mining and heavy-duty construction environments. Transport trucks are equipped with transport truck bodies capable of accommodating a large amount of material, such as rocks, crushed ore or the like. Haul truck capacities range from 40 short tons (36 t) to 496 short tons. The lower body area of such a transport truck is normally 30 to 70 square meters.

Transporting such heavy and often sharp masses of loads causes the haulage truck body to experience great wear due to impact and abrasion.

To protect the surface of the transport truck body, it is common to equip the inside of the transport truck body with a coating. See eg GB 2,109,303 A disclosure. Whereas transport truck body is usually made of steel, the cladding material is usually made of another material. A commonly used type of liner is a resilient liner comprising, for example, a rubber or polyurethane material. An advantage of the elastic liner material is that its properties will mitigate the effects of the strong impact of the material on the transport truck body when the material is transported from quite a height above the transport truck body from, for example, an excavator.

The elastic lining material effectively absorbs the energy of the impact and distributes this energy over a larger area. Moreover, the noise is reduced and the comfort for the operator is improved.

The haul truck liner is typically manufactured from a plurality of liner elements which are spread over the surfaces of the haul truck body to form the liner. Separate cladding elements simplify manufacturing by limiting their dimensions and mass. Moreover, it facilitates the maintenance of the transport truck body, since damaged or worn individual cladding elements can be changed directly on site without having to remove large parts of the surrounding cladding. The cladding elements may comprise a reinforcing plate, generally made of steel, together with a rubber covering.

There is always a need to improve the payload capacity of such a transport truck.

Summary of the invention

To this end, there is provided a lining element for a wear resistant transport truck body liner, said lining element comprising a reinforcing plate which is at least partially embedded in an elastic material, wherein said reinforcing plate comprises a plurality of mounting holes that are arranged to mount the liner to the transport truck body and that are not covered by the elastic material, and one or more openings cut out to reduce weight that are larger than the mounting holes and they are covered by the elastic material. Furthermore, the reinforcing plate comprises one or more folded edges.

While the mounting holes are not covered by the elastic material, they can, for example, be covered by rubber plugs. With the mounting holes arranged to mount the liner on the transport truck body, they will coincide with the mounting structures on the transport truck body, which for example may comprise corresponding holes or fixed bolts. Therefore, a plate can be adapted to specific mounting structures by positioning the mounting holes accordingly.

The term "cut openings" should be understood not to be limited to openings formed by cutting, but to include openings generally formed by any process, including those formed, for example, by molding.

The arrangement of the cut-out openings in the backing plate enables the weight of the liner element to be reduced while maintaining adequate stiffness of the liner element to maintain its desired shape, eg flat. The reduced weight allows the transport truck to carry more payload.

The bent edges of the backing plate will help to hold the liner in a preferred shape, eg flat. The folded edges grip the elastic material, holding it in place. Rubber tends to shrink after the manufacturing process, which would otherwise cause the plate to bend and warp. In addition, they provide additional strength and rigidity to the plate.

The backing plate may further have an outer frame extending along the peripheral edge of the liner, where the cut-out openings are disposed within the outer frame. This provides greater rigidity to the plate and therefore the liner element, allowing the cut-out openings to be made larger and thus further reducing the weight of the liner element. At least some of the mounting holes may be arranged in this outer frame of the stiffener plate.

There may be two or more cutout openings arranged within the frame. This allows flexibility in the geometry of the cladding element, since large areas of the plate can comprise cutout openings, while still retaining the option of freely positioning the mounting holes also in the central parts of the plate. For example, the reinforcing plate may further comprise one or more strip portions extending between side portions of said outer frame to define said two or more cut-out openings and at least some of the mounting holes may be provided in the portions of band. This allows for a rigid plate that still provides a great reduction in weight.

The outer peripheral edge of the cladding element can define a contour zone of the reinforcing plate, and said one or more cut-out openings can together define a total cut-out zone that reaches at least up to 20%, preferably, at least 30% , of the contour area of the reinforcement plate. Preferably, the total cutout area reaches up to not more than 60%, preferably not more than 40%, of the contour area of the reinforcing plate. This relationship will generally result in a roughly similar weight reduction compared to a plate without cutout openings.

The cladding element can be flat, allowing easy fabrication and assembly.

The backing plate may comprise one or more bent edges to keep the skin element flat. The folded edges grip the elastic material, holding it in place. Rubber tends to shrink after the manufacturing process, which would otherwise cause the plate to bend. In addition, they provide additional strength and rigidity to the plate. The folded edges can be partially arranged on an outer periphery of the backing plate. The edges can be bent 90 degrees or more. Preferably, the edges are bent more than 90 degrees. Preferably the edges are bent less than 180 degrees. Therefore, preferably, the edges are bent more than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees. Alternatively, the edges are bent 180 degrees or 90 degrees. An advantage of bending the edges more than 90 degrees is that the elastic material is less likely to cut at the edges during loading of the haul truck. An advantage of bending the edges less than 180 degrees is a better grip on the stretch material.

The reinforcing plate can be in one piece and can be made of metal, preferably steel. The elastic material can comprise rubber.

The liner element may further comprise a plurality of holes arranged in the elastic material and aligned with the mounting holes of the backing plate. This allows the mounting holes to be reached when mounting the liner.

The cutout openings can be in the shape of straight polygons, such as rectangles, allowing for easy fabrication.

The backing plate can be completely embedded in the elastic material, except optionally for the areas in said mounting holes of the backing plate.

In addition, there is provided a transport truck body provided with an inner wear resistant lining formed by a plurality of lining elements as indicated above. The transport truck body may have a plurality of mounting structures aligned with the mounting holes of said plurality of liner elements, where the cut-out openings of the liner elements are located in areas where the liner elements correspond to zones of the transport truck body without mounting structures. Furthermore, a method of manufacturing a liner element is provided, which comprises disposing a reinforcing plate in a mold, wherein the reinforcing plate has a plurality of mounting holes and one or more apertures cut out to reduce weight that are larger than the mounting holes and where the backing plate further comprises one or more folded edges; and supplying an elastic material to said mold, such that the backing plate is at least partially covered by the elastic material and in such a way that the openings cut out to reduce weight are covered by the elastic material. The method may further comprise bending one or more edges of the reinforcing element prior to disposing the reinforcing plate in the mold, wherein the supply of elastic material comprises covering the one or more bent edges of the reinforcing plate with the elastic material.

The method may further optionally exclude areas in the mounting holes from being covered by the elastic material, when the backing plate is otherwise completely covered by the elastic material.

The method may further comprise, prior to disposing the backing plate in the mold, providing the backing plate for said plurality of mounting holes, wherein said plurality of mounting holes is aligned with a plurality of mounting structures of the car body. Transport truck; and, also before placing the reinforcing plate in the mold, providing the reinforcing plate of said one or more weight reduction openings, wherein said one or more weight reduction openings are located in corresponding reinforcing plate areas to areas of the transport truck body without mounting structures.

Finally, the method may comprise mounting the cladding element to the transport truck body. Lastly, a lining element is provided for a wear resistant transport truck body liner, wherein the lining element comprises a reinforcing plate which is at least partially embedded in the elastic material.

The backing plate may comprise a plurality of mounting holes that are arranged to mount the trim element to the transport truck body. While the mounting holes may not be covered by the elastic material, they may, for example, be covered by rubber plugs.

The backing plate may comprise one or more bent edges to keep the skin element flat. Preferably the edges are bent less than 180 degrees. Alternatively, the edges are bent 180 degrees.

Brief description of the drawings

The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be better understood throughout the following detailed, illustrative and non-limiting description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, where will use the same reference numbers for similar items, where:

Figure 1 is a perspective sectional view of a transport truck liner element including a rubber coating and a stiffening plate according to a first embodiment, Figure 2 is a perspective view of a stiffening plate for a liner element of a transport truck according to a second embodiment,

Figure 2A is a cross-sectional view of the reinforcement plate of Figure 2 and a rubber liner, forming a liner element of a transport truck,

Figure 2B is a cross-sectional view of a backing plate and a rubber liner according to an alternative embodiment,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a reinforcing plate for a liner element of a transport truck according to a third embodiment,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a reinforcing plate for a liner element of a transport truck according to a fourth embodiment,

Figures 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d are cross-sectional views of bent edges of reinforcing plates according to different embodiments, and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a transport truck with a loading area covered by cladding elements.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention

Figures 1, 2 / 2A, 3 and 4 illustrate lining elements 2 for a wear resistant transport truck body liner according to a first, a second, a third and a fourth embodiment, respectively. Figure 2B illustrates an alternative embodiment to the second embodiment of Figures 2 and 2A. The cladding elements 2 are intended to be mounted on the transport truck body 100 (see figure 6). The lining elements 2 are substantially flat and each comprises a substantially flat backing plate 4 and a rubber covering 20 constituting an elastic material 20 covering the backing plate. In Figure 1, part of the elastic material 20 has been cut for illustrative purposes only.

The reinforcing plates 4 provide rigidity and strength to the cladding elements 2 and help to hold the elastic material 20 in place. In these embodiments, the elastic material 20 completely covers the backing plate 4. In other embodiments, the elastic material 20 can only partially cover the backing plate 4. Therefore, the backing plate 4 is at least partially embedded in material. elastic 20. The reinforcing plates 4 are substantially flat and have a rectangular contour 14. They are preferably made in one piece, as shown, and are preferably made of metal, such as steel.

The reinforcing plates 4 comprise a series of mounting holes 6 for mounting the lining element 2, of which the reinforcing plate 4 is a part, on the transport truck body 100 (see Figure 6). The mounting holes 6 correspond to and are adapted to coincide with the mounting structures (not shown) in the transport truck body 100. In this way, the lining element 2, of which the reinforcing plate 4 is a part, is It will be adapted to be mounted in a specific location (not shown) on the transport truck body 100 (see FIG. 6). Mounting structures in the transport truck body 100 may comprise, for example, welded bolts designed to fit into the mounting holes 6 of the reinforcement plate 4, or a further plurality of holes, each corresponding to the holes of mounting 6.

There are a plurality of holes 7 in the elastic material 20, such that it does not cover the mounting holes 6 of the backing plate 4. Optionally, after or as part of the installation, the mounting holes 6 can be covered by plugs. rubber 22 (shown in Figure 1 but applicable to all embodiments) for your protection. The reinforcing plates further comprise cut-out openings 8. The cut-out openings 8 are larger than the mounting holes 6 and are arranged at locations where mounting holes 6 are not needed to match the mounting structures of the truck body of the vehicle. transport 100. The cutout openings 8 can be created by, for example, cutting or machining, but can also be created in conjunction with the backing plate 4, for example, through molding.

With the apertures 8 cut out, each reinforcing plate 4 is in the form of an outer frame 18 extending along and near its outer peripheral edge 14, providing rigidity to plate 4, and possibly band portions 24 that are extend between the sides of the frame 18. At least some of the mounting holes 6 are arranged in the outer frame 18. Therefore, the frame 18 and the band portions 24, if present, can be seen as defining the openings. cut-out 8. The size of the cut-out openings 8 can be chosen according to need.

The outer edges 12 of the reinforcing plates 4, which define the contour / peripheral edge 14, are bent, contributing to the rigidity of the plates 4.

Cylinder-shaped lifting structures 16, extending from the upper surfaces of the plates, are present to lift the plate during fabrication, assembly, and / or installation. The distance that the lifting structures 16 extend from the plates is less than the thickness of the rubber. Similar to the case of the mounting holes 6, the holes 26 in the elastic material allow access to the lifting structures. Again, these holes 26 can be covered by rubber plugs 28.

Now, common characteristics of all the embodiments described above, specific to each of the embodiments, will be described.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a band portion 24 consists of three orthogonal linear band segments. Two lifting structures 16 are located in the band portion 24. Thus, such an arrangement allows a relatively central location of the lifting structures 16 and / or the mounting holes 6.

Figure 2 shows a reinforcing plate 4 which is part of a cladding element 2 according to a second embodiment. A linear strip section 24 extends herein between the two short sides of frame 18, thereby forming two elongated rectangular cutout openings 8.

Figure 2A shows a cross-sectional view of the same reinforcing plate 4 as in Figure 2, along the cross-section AA as indicated in Figure 2, and also the rubber coating 20. The folded edge 12 of the backing plate 4 grips the rubber, keeping the rubber in place.

Figure 2B shows a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment to the second embodiment of Figures 2 and 2A. This embodiment is identical to the second embodiment, except that the edges 12 of the reinforcing plate 4 are bent 90 degrees (see also Figure 5d).

Figure 3 shows a cladding element 2 with a reinforcing plate 4 according to a third embodiment. Mounting holes 6 and a folded outer edge 12 are present as in the second embodiment shown in Figure 2. Contrary to that embodiment, the plate only has a cutout opening 8, which is in the shape of an orthogonal hexagon, allowing a relatively central placement of a lifting structure 16.

Figure 4 shows a reinforcing plate 4 according to a fourth embodiment. As before, mounting holes 6 and a folded outer edge 12 are present. In this case, the single cutout opening 8 has an orthogonal octagon shape that allows for relatively central positioning of the two lifting elements 16.

Figures 5a and 5b show detailed cross sections of how the edge 12 of the reinforcing plate is bent 4. The fold is preferably more than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees, and therefore has a V-shape as in Figure 5b or almost U-shaped as in Figure 5a, to properly grip the rubber coating. . This inward bend prevents the rubber from cutting off the edge upon impact of the load.

The bend can also be 180 degrees as shown in Figure 5c. Then you can have an overlap section 30 with the unbent part of the reinforcing plate.

Alternatively, the edge can be bent 90 degrees as shown in Figure 5d.

Any of the edge configurations of Figures 5a-5d can be applied to the first, second, third or fourth embodiments detailed above.

Figure 6 shows a transport truck body 100 to which lining elements 2 have been mounted in order to provide a wear resistant lining 102.

The lining element 2 is typically 300mm to 2000mm long and 200mm to 1500mm wide. The elastic material 20, eg rubber, typically has a total thickness of 30mm to 150mm. Alternatively, the reinforcing plate 4, composed of a cladding element 2, can be seen as being composed of a plurality of reinforcing bands, each of said reinforcing bands being connected to at least one other reinforcing band to form the reinforcing plate 4. The reinforcing bands may have mounting holes 6 for mounting to the transport truck body 100 and may be in the form of rectilinear polygons. The reinforcing plate 4 can be manufactured in one piece with cut-out openings 8. The reinforcing bands can form an outer frame 18 of the reinforcing plate 4. The outer frame 18 may be composed of orthogonal segments. The outer edge 12 of the outer frame 18 may be rectangular. The outer edge 12 of the outer frame 18 can be bent.

The inventive concept has been mainly described above with reference to some embodiments. However, as one skilled in the art will readily understand, embodiments other than those disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the inventive concept, as defined in the attached patent claims.

Claims (15)

1. A lining element (2) for a wear-resistant transport truck body liner, said lining element (2) comprising a reinforcing plate (4) which is at least partially embedded in an elastic material (20) , wherein said reinforcing plate (4) comprises a plurality of mounting holes (6) which are arranged to mount the cladding element on the transport truck body (100) and which are not covered by the elastic material (20 ), and one or more openings cut out to reduce weight (8) that are larger than the mounting holes (6) and that are covered by the elastic material (20), characterized in that said reinforcing plate (4) comprises one or more folded edges (12). A cladding element (2) according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the folded edges is bent at an angle of between 90 and 180 degrees. A liner element (2) according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said folded edges is folded to bear on a major surface of the liner element. A cladding element (2) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of said bent edges is bent at a radius. 5. A cladding element (2) according to claim 1, wherein said cladding element (2) comprises an outer peripheral edge (14) and said reinforcing plate (4) presents an outer frame (18) which is extends along the peripheral edge (14) of the lining element (2); and wherein said one or more cutout openings (8) are disposed within said outer frame (18). A cladding element according to claim 1, wherein said reinforcing plate (4) further comprises one or more band parts (24) extending between the side parts of said outer frame (18) to define two or more cutout openings (8). A cladding element (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein an outer peripheral edge (14) of the cladding element defines a contour area of the reinforcing plate, and wherein said one or more openings The cutouts (8) together define a total cutout area that reaches up to at least 20%, preferably at least 30%, of the contour area of the reinforcing plate (4). A cladding element (2) according to claim 7, wherein said total cut-out zone reaches up to no more than 60%, preferably no more than 40%, of the contour zone of the reinforcing plate (4) . A lining element (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said lining element (2) further comprises a plurality of holes (7) arranged in said elastic elements (20) and aligned with said holes of assembly (6) of the reinforcement plate (4). A cladding element (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said one or more cutout openings (8) are in the shape (10) of rectilinear polygons, such as rectangles. A lining element (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said reinforcing plate (4) is completely embedded in said elastic material (20), except optionally for the areas (7) in said holes mounting bracket (6) of the reinforcement plate (4). 12. A transport truck body (100) provided with an interior wear resistant lining (102) formed by a plurality of lining elements (2) according to any one of the preceding claims. 13. A transport truck body (100) according to claim 12, wherein said transport truck body (100) has a plurality of mounting structures aligned with the mounting holes (6) of said plurality of elements cladding (2), wherein said cut-out openings (8) of said plurality of cladding elements (2) are located in zones of said plurality of cladding elements (2) corresponding to zones of said transport truck body (100 ) without such mounting structures. 14. A method of manufacturing a cladding element (2), comprising: - arranging a backing plate (4) in a mold, said backing plate (4) presenting a plurality of mounting holes (6) and one or more cut-out openings to reduce weight (8) that are larger than the holes of mounting (6) and one or more folded edges (12); and - supplying an elastic material (20) to said mold, in such a way that said reinforcing plate (4) is covered at least partially by said elastic material (20) and in such a way that said openings cut out to reduce weight (8) are covered by said elastic material (20). 15. A method according to claim 14, wherein said method further comprises: - before arranging said backing plate (4) in said mold, providing said backing plate (4) with said plurality of mounting holes (6), wherein said plurality of mounting holes (6) are aligned with a plurality of transport truck body mounting structures (100); and - before arranging said reinforcing plate (4) in said mold, providing said reinforcing plate (4) with said one or more weight reduction openings (8), wherein said one or more weight reduction openings (8 ) are located in areas of said reinforcement plate (4) corresponding to areas of said transport truck body (100) without said mounting structures.